Printing mechanism.



F. G. JAHN.

PRINTING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED APR.2.1909 v 1,065,945, I Patented July 1, 1913.

F. G. JAHN PRINTING MECHANESM APPLICATION FILED APR. 2 11-);

Patented July 1. Mil-3. :3 N: .1 SHEBTS"SHELY '1.

3a; 1 l l Sin Lu)! ITO? F. G. JAHN.

PRINTING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED APR 2, 190a Patented July 1. 1913.

11 SHEETSSHEET in V Ill-

P. G. JAHN.

PRINTING MEGHANISM APPLIGATION'FILED APR. 2, 1909.

390651945 Patelited Ju1yl,1913: I

11 SHEETSSHEET 5.

P," JAHN. PRINTING MECHANISM. APPLIGATiON FXLED APR, 2, 1909v 1,065,945. Patented July 3., 13:13

E, e. JAHN. ERINTING MECHANISM.

APPLIOATIQN FILED APR.2, 1909.

ll BHEETS-$HEET 7.

5 vwe Wtoz P, G. JAHN.

PRINTING MECHANISM,

AULIOAI-ION'HLBD APR. 2, 1909.

Patented July 1, 1913.

11 SHEETS-SHEET 8.

F. G. JAHN. PRINTING MECHANISM.

APPLIGATION FILED APR. 2, 1909 1 1,065,945, Patented July-1 11918.

11 SHEETEPSEEET 9. e

q in 72 5] 14 1) 0 wfo r,

i JVF F. G. JAHN.

PRINTING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED. APR. 2, 1909.

11 SHEETS-SHEETU.

TI/Qi MW e o UNITED sTAtr is PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERICK G. JAHN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO THE INTERNATIONAL POSTAL SUPPLY COMPANY OF NEW YORK, OF NEW YORK, Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

PRINTING MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 1, 1913.

Application filed April 2, 1909. Serial No. 487,465.

To all whom, 1' 6 may concern:

Be it-kiiown that l, FREDERICK G. JAIIN, a citizen of the United States, and a. resident of the borough 01 Brooklyn, 'in the county of Kings and city and State oi. New York, have invented certain new and useful Iin provenients in Printing Mechanism, of which the following is a specification.

My invention, while relating to printing machines generally, has reference more particularly t that form of such machine which isemployed to imprintformal indorsements or other matter upon bank checks or other articles, and in which the printing or impression mechanisms are brought into and held out of peration, when the machines-are being actuated, by the respective presence and absence oi" the checks or other articles to be operated upon.

l'Vith machines of this character, it is essential that the constructing of the parts be such as to adapt the 'inachine to imprint or otherwise operate upon checks or other ar- .ticles that vary in length and in thickness,

and to make this imprint or other'impres sion at but a single place upon each, however long or short the checks 01" other articles operated upo'fl may be Moreover, with machines of this class, it is also essential that the imprint or impression he made upon each and every succeeding check or other article passed through them, and, that too,

t'or positively actuatin gthe element of the printing mechanism that is controlled in its movementby the presence and absence ot the checks or other articles to be operated upon, and also with means for automatically feeding forward to themachine in successive order, from a mass supplied to it, the checks or other articles to be operated upon, are the objects of my invention. In the attainment of these ends, various forms of mechanism may be adopted. In order however to make possible a more thorough understanding of my invention, 1 have shown in the drawings one specific embodiment thereof, which I will hereinafter first describe, and will then point out the novel features of the invention in the subjoined claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, Figure 1, is a plan of a printing machine .c0nstrueted in accordance with one form of my invention; Figs. 2, 3, and 4, sideelevations thereof, taken from difl'erentview points and respectively looking in the directions of arrows 2*, 3*, and 4* in Fig. 1, with parts of the housings of the machine broken away in Fig. 4, and certain of the interior parts in that figure shown in section, and others in elevation; Fig. 5, a reverse plan view of the carrier detached, showing certain of the parts of the detector mechanism carried by it; Fig. 6, an edge view of the carrier, with portions broken away and with certain of the parts carried byit shown in section and others in elevation; Fig. 7, a horizontal sectional view taken in the line 7 of Fig. 4 and showing theca1-rier and its attached parts removed, w th its cover or top platebroken away andftz' ertain of the parts below shown in elevation and with one of the grip.pei's' illustrated.i ,ldot-ted lines in two positions; 8, is a horizontal fragmen 'ta-ry section taken in the line 8 8 of Fig. 9 and looking in the direction of thenrrows 8* in this lastineiitioned figure, showing portions of the top plate or cover of the main housing of the machine, with a portion of the gear for operating the rotary print-' ing or impression member of the printing mechanism and the devices by means of which this rotary printing or impression member may be broughtinto and held out of operation in one of their positions; Figf 9, is a vertical sectional elevation of the parts shown in F 1g. 8 looking in the direc- ,tion of the arrow 9* in that figure; .Fig.10,a

similar horizontal fragmentary view of the parts shown in Fig. 8, also taken in the line 8 8 of Fig. 9, with the portion of. the top plate or cover of the casing omitted and the parts for bringing the rotary printing or impression member of the printing mechanism into and for holding it out of operation in a slightly different position; Fig. 11, a like horizontal section also taken in the line .8 8

of Fig. 9, with various of the parts for bringing the rotarypr nting or impression 'ini'mber of the printing mechanism into and.

for holding itout of operation in a slightly different position, and with other of the arts cotiperat'ing with them and shown in ig. 10, omitted; Fig. 12, a plan or face view of the gear wheel by which the rotation that rotates the rotary printing or impression member of the printing mechanism, \hich last mentioned gear is also shown in ction, with the shafts by which the disk nd the intermediate gears are supported il ustrated in side elevation; Fig. 14,-a versection of another portion of the mae taken in the line 14 14 of Fig. 7, and

:lcing in the direction of the arrow 14* in tvi; figure, certain of the parts being in i elevation; Fig. 15, a vertical section of a ion of the machine taken in the line 15 iii of Fig. 7 and looking in the direction of the arrow 15* in that figure; Fig. 16, a ver- 1 i-al sectional side elevation of certain of the parts employed for carrying and operating one of the grippers, detached, with the gripper blades broken away; Fig. 17, a side elevation of a fragment of the face of the carrier broken away, with one of the grippers in its operative positionrFig. 18, a horizontal section thereof, taken in the line 18 18 of Fig. 17, with the gripping blades omitted; Fig. 19, a sectional plan of the feeding and selecting devices detached; Fig. 2'0, a horimntal section taken on the line :20 20 of Fig. ti. looking in the direction of the arrow 20* in that figure. and Fig. 21, is a vertical section taken in the line 21-21 of 1.

In all the figures, like letters of reference are employed to designate corresponding arts.

A indicates the main housings in and upon which the various parts of the machine are mounted and carried, and B indicates the carrier by means of' which the checks or other articles to be operated upon are successively selected and 1arried forward bet-ween the supporting and printing members of the printing mechanism to the point'of theirdelivery,

In the construction of the main housings any! approved, form that will adaptit to perform its required functions may be-adopt. ed, and the same may be designed to either rest upon a bench or table, or be secured to a suitable stand prepared to receive it. As shown in the drawings however, these. housings are constructed in a general rectangular forxnin horizontal section, with one of its sidesflnrovided with a circular portion ex- .tending outward hllfifeflfllll and the} whole composed of a basea, and of a cap or cover a which is arranged at the required distance above the base and is cdnnected therewith by a vertical casing a that extends between them, with its respective upper and under edges secured to or formed integrally with the outer edges of the cap or cover and the base, as shown. The carrier B, on the other hand, is constructed in the form of a disk or wheel, with its peripheral face 6 made of the proper width to suit-it to its intended use, and is or may be secured upon the upper end of. a shaft C, which is re' tatively mounted in a siiitable bearing a that is supported upon the cap or cover a of the main housing A, either by being detachably secured to it by screws a, or by being constructed integrally therewith as may be preferred. "With the carrier "B thus mounted, it is capable of rotation with its supporting shaft C, and, when in rotation, of cooperating with a separator or wiper D to successively select the checks or other.

articles to be operated upon, one at a time, from a mass or package supplied to it and carry them forward in that order to their place of discharge. To insureof its accomplishing these results, while yet preventing it from selecting more than a single check or other article at one and the same time, the .periph -y of this carrier is provided with a superimposed feeding surface 6, that is preferably formed from soft rubber or other adhesive material, which, in coming in contact with the surface of a check or other article, will adhere thereto and cause the check or other article to move forward with it by frictional adhesion, while the remain der of the -mass or paclrageis held from moving forward therewith, by the separator or wiper p, which, to accomplish that result, is preferably made from a. flexible strip of rubberfor other adhesive material similar to that made use ofv in the formation of the feeding surface 6 and, extending incle lying next to it and inthe path of its,"

movement, and carry it forward in its travel; while'the separator or wiper D, ex-' tending inward across the ends of the other checltsor articles coi'i'1 )osing the mass or package, and engaging with its overturned end portion the check or other article lying next to that selected by the feeding surface,

will, not onl prevent any of the others of the massorpac age from moving forward, but,

ioo

in consequence of its adhesive action upon the check lying next to that selected by such feeding surface, will prevent that also from moving forward, and that too, without interfering with the mm'ement of the one selected, and so on, each check or other articlc selected by the feeding surface in its forward movement being carried forward by it, while the others composing the mass or 1 package are restrained from such movement. While the carrier B is thus provided with the feeding surface b to select and carry forward the successive checks or other articles to be operated upon, it is also equipped with a supporting surface 6 which, in the preferred embodiment of my invention, is constructed of comparatively hard rubber, or other appropriate material that will present a smoothsurface and be-thereby incapable of removing a check or other article from the mass orpackage supplied to the machine-against the restraining frictional adhesive action of the separator or wiper, and yet present a sufiiciently yielding bed to the printing or impression surface during the printing operation to preserve the face of the type or other characters carried by it from injury. With the carrier B thus provided, the feeding and supporting surfaces b and Wlll preferably be made of the same width-as its periphery and of a combined length to extend entirely around the same. In being thus constructed of this longitudinal extension, when the feeding and the supporting surfaces are combined, the feeding surface '5 in itself, is preferably conttructed of a length that will occupy an arc ofgbut'a' very few degrees on t-he'periphery of the carrier, or of a length'that is only sufficient to afford a surface that will insure its engagement with, and its carryw ingforwarthof acheck or other article each time that it passesv the mass or package supplied to 'the machine; while the supporting 5 surface?) will be made of a length to substantially occupy the circumferential por -tions of its periphery not appropriated by the feeding surface, 'whereby the checks or other articles opera-ted upon may be printed 59 or otherwise treated at practically, any demired point along or throughout their length.

As thus constructed and proportioned these surfaces may be secured to the periphery of the carrier in any ordinary or approved way. I prefer however-to secure them thereto by segmental strips 6 and ,b,.which, constructed of metal or, other appropriate material. with outwardly extending flanges bf on their opposite ends, are secured to the periphery 0 of the carrier between the approaching ends ofthe feeding and supporting surfaces, by screws 5, extending through the strips and engaging at their free ends with suitable threaded orifices, formed in the periphery of 5 the carrier, with the outwardly extending flanges I) on their opposite ends overlying thev respectiye' ends of the feeding and sup porting surfaces, as shown more particularly in Ifigs. 5, 17, and 18.

In some instances the feeding surface 6 may be furrowed or otherwise roughened, as shown in Fig. 2, or the same may be left smooth, as shown in Figs. 17 and 18. I prefor however to furrow or roughen it, as a better hold upon the check or other article .is thereby attained, but either the roughened or smooth form may be adopted and the surface operate with efficiency.

As thus far described, only a single feeding and a single supporting surface has been so referred to, and in practice the carrier 13 may be constructed of a diameter to accommodate only that number, in that case the selecting, carrying forward, printing, and delivering of buta single check or other article at each rotatioii of, the carrier will be effected. It is preferred however to construct the carrier of a diameter to accommodate a plurality of these associated feeding and supporting surfaces, whereby the selecting, carrying forward, printing, and I .delivering of .a plurality of successive individual checks or other articles during such rotation will be effected; and, in the form of the invention illustrated in the drawing, it is shown as equipped with three of those associated feeding and supporting surfaces, but this is merely illustrative, and the carrier may be made of a diameter to adapt it to the accc modation of a greater or less number offth'ee associated surfaces. without many way affecting the essentials of theinvent'on. Vith the carrier B thus provrded witthe feeding and supporting sur-- faces 6 and b the separator or' wiper D is so-supph ted with respect to them as to have its overturnediinner operative end normally pressed against them with a yielding pressure. To permit of the accomplishing. of this result, the separator or wiper is ar- 0 ranged within a suitable holder (1, which is secured to the upturned end of a rod (.7 that extends backward therefrom to near the point. of discharge of the checks or other articles operated on, and has its opposite upturned end journaled in suitable bearings (7 and 17, respectively formed in the overhung portion of the main housing A and in a bar which is supported above it through the intervention of a stud (Z and a screw (1. As thus supported the separator or wiper is capable of a swinging movement toward and away from the carrier; and in or er' to hold it forced forward against the feeding and supporting surfaces'on the carrie'r by ayielding-pressure, a spring (5" is employed,'which, while capable of various modifications and applications, is shown in the drawings as constructed in the form of a plate spring with oneof its ends se 1 o cured to the main housing A by screws (Z and its opposite end bearing against the upturned portion of the rod d that supports the holder (1. \Vhile thus normally pressed against the carrier by a yielding n-cssure and capable of movement! toward -'and away from it with its holder, the sepaplace it by a fresh portion, being held in any position to which it may be moved. therein by a screw (i \VlllCll, threaded in a bar or lug cl, with which the holder is pro-v vided, engages at its free end therewith, as shown. As thus held and supported the separator or wiper extends inward toward the carrier with aslight incline in the di-- rection in which the carr er is rotated and. has its inner overturned end similarly curved in the same direction; To provide however for varying the inclination of this separator or wiper with respect to the carrier, the hearinggl by which the holder (1 is secured upon the upturned end of the rod (Z is split. in one of its sides, and is provided with a clamping screw d, whereby the bearing may be released from frictional engagement with the rod (5 or be firmly clamped thereon. W'ith the hearing al thus constructed the adjustment of the holder (Z around the upturned end of the rod (Z to bring the separator or wiper into any required inclination with respect to the carrier, may be effected by simply loosening the screw rl", when the required inclined ad'- justment of the separator orwiper may be etl'cc'ted, after which the c amping of the hearing'upon the rod and "the holding of the parts in adjusted position may be accomplished by simply turning up the screw, as will be readily understood. I

F or supporting the checks pr other articles to be operated upon and fee-ding them forward to the selecting devices; comprised in .the carrier l3 and the separator or wiper D ,cotiperating with it, various '-',means may be employed. I prefer however toladopt for tlli's purpose a disk E and .a'feeding roll E which are arranged in rear of and in proper relationship tosuch selecting devices a-nd are secured upon a vertical shaft E that is rotatively mounted in a suitable bearing. 0 forhiediin or ca-rri'ed by the main hens ing A,.as.sh0wn more particularly in Figs.

1, 13, and "19. As thus arranged the checks or other articles X tobe operated upon, are supplied in packages or m mass, and, standing 1:16) edgewise, are deposited upon the 5 their with one of thelr longitudinal. edges it from the shaft C, and, to that end, I respectively provide that shaft and the shaft with gears 1+ and which are fixedly se-' cured to them, and are operativelyconnected by intermediate gears e and e that are ro- 'tatively mounted upon a stud 6, with which the under side'of the cap or cover of the main housing A is provided. The shaft E being thus connected with the shaft C, and through it with the carrier B, the required feeding movements will be imparted to the disk E and feeding roll E whenever the carrier is rotated; and in order to insure the efhcient feeding action of these parts upon the checks or other articles being operated upon, I find it convenient to equip the feeding roll E at or near its top and bottom ends with surfaces 6 which are preferably formed from comparatively soft rubber or other equivalent adhesive material, and to so construct: the upper surface of the disk E that the checks or other articles carried forward by it rest thereon only throughoutltl'ie forward portions of their length. To provide for the application of the rubber or other adhesive material to the top andbottom ends of the roll E these ends are con structed with circumferential grooves e, in which the material constituting the adhesive surfaces is arranged and secured; while to provide for the checks or other articles being fed forward resting upon the upper surface of the disk E throughout their forward portions only, this surface, instead of lying in a plane at right-angles to its axis, is eambered or formed slightly. conical, whereby the checks or other articles in passing over and resting upon it in traveling to the point of delivery, will incline downward slightly, with their rear ends elevated, in which position. they will be supported and guided by a supporting plate E disposcd above andiniclose relationship to the upper surface'ofthe disk, and fixedly held in that. positionby an upturned flange a which is secured to thebar (Z* by screws 0 With the parts concerned in the supporting and feeding forward .ofthe checks or other articles to the selecting devices constructed and organized as thus explained,

the disk E and the feeding wheel E in act-, mg upon the checks or other articles being passed through the machine, Wl-llIlOll only;

serve to carry them forward; toward-and against the rear of the holde'rydf and the separator or; wiper D, butgin consequence of the upper surface of the disk upon which they rest rptating across their forwardends in the direction of the'car-rier B, it will cause these forward ends ,to move inward toward the point of contact of the separator or wiper thergwith, and, at the same time, by its friction-on their-lower edges, destroy whatever adhesive action there may eXist between them, with the result that the individual selection o'f-the successive checks or other articles by the cooperative action of the carrier and the separator orwiper will be facilitated. While thus'the-feeding forward of the checks or other articles to be operated upon is automatically effected by the disk E and feeding roll E ,'the forward end of any folded or aberrant individual thereof is held in position and prevented from improperly passing inward toward the carrier B by a guide-plate e, which, secured at its rearend to the upturned fiange e of the-plate E by screws 6 extends forward therefrom around the front of the feeding rolls E in a circumferential groove e formed therein, and-terminates at its forward extremity at apoint near'the periphery of the carrier 13, to which its forward end portion is substantially tangent. By these means, as will be seen, the proper holding of any crumpled or other distorted checks or other article in proper position to be engaged bythe feeding surfaces 11 of the" carrier is insured. I p

In some instances the upper surfaceof the disk E may be provided with upwardly raised spots or prot uberanees, as shown, for

instance, in an application for U. S. Letters Patent filed by me inthe United. States Patent Ofiice September 21st, 1907, and serially numbered 393,981. :In the drawing'however I have shown the sirface of this disk as smooth, and either ofthese forms of disks ma be employed asprefer-red, was the nature of'the work to be performed may to uire.'.

For supporting te feed plate E which acts against the checks or other articles op-' erated upon tofo rce them agai-nst the feed ing roll E any appropriate means that willaccoinplish that result may be adopted. The.

instrumentalities,that I have found in practire to be'the most efficient for the purpose consists of a rod a", which, journaled at forward en'd in a bearing cflsecured to or formed on the back of the plate, extends outward therefrom,.thence downward to a point below the overhung portion of the' main housing A. that supports the disk E, and thence backward thereunder to near the place of discharge of the checks orother articles, where, through its upturned rear end, it is journaled in bearings c,and 6 respectively formed in such overhungporand in the bar 11", as shown in Figs; 1,

Thizse' grippers of which there will be a 'separateone employed in connection with resent areas. As thus supported this plate capable of movement toward and away from th' feeding roll E1 through a considerable range of travehwhereby to permit of the supply ofpackages or masses of checks or other articles of different thicknesses to the feeding devices; and in order to provide for forcing it against the mass or package with a yielding pressure, whatever the thickness of the mass or package may be, I make use of a spring 6", which, while capable of various modifications, in the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings is constructed of wire in spiral form that is coiled around the rear upturned end of the between the printing and supporting members oftheprinting mechanism, and-thence onwardto the place of their discharge, is

also effected bythe cotiperative action of such feeding surfaces .withgrippers H that are arranged connection with them.

each ofthe feeding surfaces, may be constructed in a varietyofforms. In the specific embodiment-of the invention selected for purposes of illustration however, each ofthese grippers is constructed in the form of an elongated loop, with two parallelly arranged curved spring sides It connected attheir'outer ends bfa portion 72-, and isor may. be formed from wire or other appropriate material bent into the required contour, as shown in Figs. 16 and17. As thus constructed these grippers extend through the periphery of the carrier Bin suitable orifices h -ffllllled therein, and are free to be zprotruded and withdrawn through them as H and H, which are fixedly secured to the upper surface of the cap or cover a of the main housings A, byscrews h and, in this location, the levers H in their travel with the carrier 13, pass over them. As thus supported and carried, whenever any one of the levers H in moving forward with the carperiphery of such carrier, will force its outer free end against the outer surface of the check or other article selected and presented to it by the selecting devices, with the result that the check or other article will be firmly clamped against the cooperatingfeedin'g surface 0 and held in that position until released therefrom. On the other hand, whenever the lever 11 is vibraaed in the opposite direction, as, for instaiice, by the camI-I then this gripper will be released from the check or other article with which it was engaged, and, traveling backward in an opposite direction, will be withdrawn wholly within the periphery of the carrier with the exception of the part 10 thereo' that connects the outer ends of its curvilinear sides 11,, which part 71- in order to lie flush with the peripheral suif face of the carrier, will enter and rest v/jhin the groove l1 formed therein between the orifices 71, as shown in Figs. 7 a-ndrli'.

With the clamping of the checks or other articies'against the feeding surfaces Z2 and the releasing of them frdfn the same thus effected by the gripper H, the end h of the cam H is so formed and related to the separator or wiper D that the grippers, in being forced outward by the former, will clamp the leading ends of the checks or other articles against the feeding surfaces at a point in closerelationship to the latter; while the end It ofthe carpH is so fashioned and positioned with' respeot to the place at which the checks or other articles are discharged that the grippers, in being forced inward b it,shall release their hold' upon such chec s or other-articles at the point where their leading ends are to rest when the checks or other articles are delivered.

For securing the grippers H to their respective carrym levers H various means may be employe In my preferred 'formof construction however they are secured to the levers by a hub or boss 71,, which, formed upon the upper surface of each. at the appropriate point near one of its ends, is provided with a slot or kerf 11, formed axially across it in a direction longitudinally of the lever, for the reception of the overturned end of the gripper, which is arranged therein, and 'whlch is firmly clamped in that re lationship by screws h that pass loosely through the portion of the hub or boss on one side of the slot or kerf, and engage at their threaded endswith threaded orifices formed in the portion of the hub or. boss on the opposite side thereof. B these means, as will be seen, not only are t e grippersfirmly secured to their respective carrying levers H, but provision is made thereby for adjusting and removing them when desired, as clearly appears-in Figs. 5,7, and 16. \Vit-h the grippers H thus secu1 ed to the lovers H each of these levers is equipped near its middle point with an upwardly extending pivotal stud h", and its pivoting to the under side of the carrier B is accomplished through the intervention of a bracket I and a hearing it. Of these, the bracket I is fixedly secured to the under side of the vibration in one or the other directions from the cams H and H and in order to provide .for their engagement with these cams as "they travel over them, each of these levers H is provided with a properly located stud h depending from its under side to the requisite distance to engage with them, and, to reduce the friction between the parts, is

provided with a rotatable sleeve it" that is' held in lace'thereon by a. screw h", as

clearly illustrated in the figures on the drawings last noted.

:Vhile the outward and inward move-' ,ments of the grippers, to respectively clamp and release their hold upon the checks orother articles, are effected by the cams H and H", as the levers H are carriedover them in their travehwith the. carrier these grippers are held at the extreme of their mcvements, after their carrying levers H ha've traveled beyond those cams, by springs K, which are, so disposed and operating as to'hold them in both their outward and inward position. To accomplish this result, various forms and applications of springs may he adopted. Iprefer however to em" ploy for this purpose an extensible and contractible'spiral spring applied under tension, and, to that end, I provide each of the levers H with an" arm I which, secured at one of its ends to the upper e frcmit-y of the pivotal stud h, by a screw 7L" or otherwise, extends bacl rd therefrom in a direcmem- tion away from the gripper and iseqiiippediv at its opposite end end with an upwardly extending stud it, that has rotatively mounted upon it a friction sleeve Ii. As

5 thus provided, one end of the spring K is connected with this friction sleeve If", and the other end thereof is connected'witha pin is, which is secured to the under side of the carrier B in such relationship to the 19 parts that when the lever H is. occupying an immediate middle position between its limits of vibration, this spring will-exert its strain in a line passing directly across the axis of the stud h", froinone of its points of.

5 connection to the other. In being thus apfrom the time the lever starts to move, until,

' further movementof the lever and gripper inits. travel, the stud'h 'carries the line of strain exerted by the spring over and be-' yond the aitis of-the pivotal stud h, when the resilient quality ofithe spring will be brouglitinto actionand the cam then acting aided thereby in completing the vibratory movement. of the lever, in whichever of the two ways it may be moved,

'If the movementof the lever H 'is, in a. direction to force its gripper outward into contact with the check or other article to be actedu pon, then such check or other article, when the outer end otfthe gripper contacts with it, will serve asa stop to the further movement of the lever, and will in turn be not only; tightly clamped between it and the .feeding surface 6 buti'firml-y held in that position by the spring 'until released therefi-on'i by the action of the cam H On the other hand, if the. movement of the lever H is in a direction to withdraw itsgi-ippei", then, when this withdrawal is completed, the portion h connecting'the outer ends of the sides [L of the latter will be brought back into contact with the bottom of the groove it, which, serving as a stop, will prevent the in that direction, and the twoXvill then be held in the positions to which they are thus restrained by the spring K, until again carried forward in the opposite direction by. the cam ii to protrudethe gripper, and so 'onythe spring K thus serving to not only aid'the cams ll and H in eil'ecting the last portion of the movement of the lovers H in one direction or the other, but also to hold the gripper either forced outward against the checks or other. articles to clamp them against the feeding surfaces, -or In; r

L, and,in consequencethereof, willhave a their withdrawn position when not acted upon by-such cams, shown in Figs. 5, 6, 7, and 17.

For holding tlie.chec l s or other articles to be operated upon against the carrier, as they are being carried forward'from the feeding and selecting devices to and between mechanism, Irmakeuse ofa roller I I otherwise.

the printing -mechanism, and: thence to the place of their discharge, while,.at the same time, 'providingfor the carrying forward of any aberrant individual thereof that may not have been delivered from the mass in time to be engaged, by the grippers, or that may have been drawn forward by its adhesion to some properlytraveling check or;

- other article, and causing its discharge from the machine before. it reac'lie preferablycovered;v its periphery -withv a band of comparatively soft rubber. on other equivalent yielding. material, or left plain,

is, arranged to bear against theperiphery of r the carrier, slightly in rear of the separas tor or' wiper, and at an elevation thereon lhabwillcarry itwholly above the path of travelof the grippers, asthey are moved outward to clampthe checks or other articles dEliVQPBdaiQil'lGlIl by the feedingfand selecting devices. With'the roller thus arrarigedit may be rotated from the carrier through its frictional coiitactthenewith, or I prefer however! to rotate, it from the carrier through frictional contact, and, 'to that. end, rotatively mounti it upon the upper end of a stud Z, -whieli' extends np- .ward from the free outer end of an arm P that is pivotally supported fromtheover hung portion of the cap or covei a 'of the main housings A; by ascrew' Z In being thus supported the roller, as -will be seen, is capable of a swinging movement toward and away from the carrier; and in order to 'nornially hold it. pressedagaiust-the can rier with a yielding pressure, I make "use of aspri'ng Z", which, while capable oi variousmodifications, is shown'in the drawings as a plate spring, with one of its ends'fixedly secured to the main lltlfl slllgs by ap' propriate screws 1* and its oppositetend bearing agaiiist the studrl, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, t-Th'e roller L bein'g thus pressed against the periphery of the carrier, it is obvious' that any checks or other articles 7 being properly carried forward by the feeding surfaces 7) and th'e grippers H will be firmly pressed against the carrier by it; while any check or;othe'r article, that may -not have been deliveredin time for engagement by the grippers will be "carried forward by the action of this "roller and the carrier upon it. Instead how-everofibeing carried between the members of'tlie printing mechanism, the leading end of the cliqck or. other article thus carried, will not beheld. against the carrierafteritrpasses the roller;

tendency to pass o ffi-at-a, tangent to the'ca'b' rier, with the result that, in following that:

nism. v v ,v

With the successive -"present-ationi-pf 'tlie' individu'arg checks or other articles to the printing echanism accomplished by, the instrumentalities above described, th'eprinting faces b 'o1r i{=the carrier In the construction of this printingorimprcssion member- M, various forms may bcadopted, it only being essential that, whatever its character, it.

be capable of being brought into action to cooperate with the supporting surface or member to imprint or emboss the desired matter or object, or otherwise operate upon each of the checks or OlZlIGIHITlZIClGS passed between them, and then withdrawn therefrom to be again brought into action and cooperation'with it when the second check or other article is presented, and so on. In the specific form of the invention which I haveselected for the purpose of illustration however, it is constructed in the form of a cylinder, with a. portion on one side of its axis cut away, and the surface of the portion remaining either provided with the legend or other matter or object to be i'mprinted or embossed upon the check or other article, formed upon or within it, or the same is so 'eonstructedas to receive appropriate type or blocks for performing that function. Asthus constructed this printing or impression member M is secured to the upper end 'of a short vertically. arranged sliaft m, which is journaled in suitable bearings m that are so located that, when, in its rotation, the surface of the cylindrical portion of the member is brought opposite to the supporting member 6 on the carrier B, the printing, embossing, or other operation upon the checks or other articles will be performed thereby as they .are carried-forward between them. For supporting thelprinting or impression member in this relationship, while yet permitting of, its yielding backward from the supporting member 6 on the carrier B, to adapt itself to different thicknesses of checks or other articles operated upon by it, I preferably form the bear-.

ings an indie free ends of arms m which extend outward froma hollow shaft or sleeve m that is pivoted within the main housing A, in such a manner thatthc arms m there' on shall extend outward from it in a vertical'plane that is parallel to and outside of a line drawn tangent to the carrier B, as illustraled in Figs. 7 and 14. In pivoting this shafQ or sleeve m to the main housing A, various means may. be employed. I prefer however to adopt for the purpose a stud in which, depending from an orifice formed in the cap or cover a, is fixedly secured therein by a nut in, and receives the shaft or sleeve which is rotatively mounted upon it, and which is held thereon by a screw m, threaded in the lower end of the stud and cooperating with an overlapping plate or washer m; as shown. With the printing or impression member thus'mounted, it s normally held pressed inward toward its cooperating supporting surface by spring pressure, whereby to be capable of yielding backward therefrom to accommodate itself to different thicknesses of checks or other articles passing between it and its cooperating supporting surface. To permit of this being accomplished, I make use of a spring m which is preferably, though not necessarily, constructed-in coil or spiral form, and cooperates with a projection vii, extending ou,t-.-

ward from the outer end of the arm m. As thus employed, this spring bears an its other end against an abutment m, which :15

formed or otherwise secured to the inner member M is held pressed inward to its normal operative position by the action of the spring m, but iset rendered capable of yielding backward from that position against the stress of the spring, as the exigencies of its. use may demand. While the printing or impression member is thus held pressed inward toward its cooperating supporting surface or member b by the action of the spring its movement inthatfdirection is positively limited b a stop or abutment m which, while capable ofvarious modifications, is shownin the drawing as constructed in the form of a'serew, whichfthreadod' radially through the vertical walls'aF" of the an abutment m, with which those walls are -main housing of the machine, and through provided on their inner si d'e, bears at its free end againshthe outer side of a projection on that extends ontward fr'om the sleeve m, as shown inFi ggJ. As thus arranged the inward "swinging movement of the printingor impression memben towardits cooperating supporting member, is not only positively l umtedybutproifision is made through the serevt'on abutment'm, for vary- ,ing that limit. Y

With theprintingor impression. member Mat \llltQLl'tlS described, its rotation from the gear F on the shaft C is effected throughthe'intermediary of a gear Npwhieh is fixedly'securedto the shaft in near its lower end.- In, order however'to provide for the rotation of this member only when it is remenses V 9 quired to imprint, emboss, or otherwise operate upon a check or other article passing between it and its coiiperating supporting surface 7), and for its quiescence at all other times, this gear N, instead of being provided with teeth a throughout its entire circunrference, is equipped with them throughout only a portion thereof, with the teeth omitted from the portion of its periphery that corresponds to that ofthe periphery 1 of the printing r impression member upon which its cut away portion'is located, and is provided'on this portion of its periphery with a segment a, which serves as a stop, and which is formed on its outer face with an inwardly curved surface n corresponding in its curvature to that of the gear F, with the extremities of this segment terminating in tooth-like projections 91 As thus constructed, thissegment, which is preferably made of a less thickness than the re- I mainder of the gear, normally rests with its inwardly curved outer face in close relationship to the outer surface of the teeth of the gear F. and, by contacting with that surface, prevents the rotation of the printing or impression member M, whenitis to be.

held from rotation, but permits of thatmove- Inent when its rotation is required. To provide for this rotation at the required times, the gear F is equipped at the proper points in the upper portion of its periphery with recesses a which are constructed of such term and size that they allow of the extremities a of the segment 11 entering them when the appropriate recesses and extremities are brought opposite to one another. with the consequent rotation of the gear N by the en gageuient of its teeth a with the teeth on the periphery of the gear F, as shown more particularly in Figs. 8; 10, 11. and 12. \Vith the extremities n of the segment a thus 09 operating with the recesses 97; when the printing or impression member is being rotated, its inwardly curved surface a will, when that rotation is being completed, swing inward over the surface of the teeth of the gear F, and thereby arrest the further 1i1ovcment of such member, holding it in a state of quiescence until its rotation is again required, when the proper recesses 71. in the gear F will be brought into position beneath the gear N and a second rotation of the same etie'cted, and so on.

For bringing the teeth iron the gear N into engagement with the teeth on the gear l, when the rotation of-the printing or impression member is to be effected. various means may be adopted. I prefer however to employ for this purpose an arm a and a cooperating abutment it. Of these. the arm a is fixedly secured upon the shaft m, and, extending outwardly from it, has its rear operating surface so formed. that it is curved outwardly and iealwardly, asshown; while the abutment n is preferably constructed in the form of a lever, with its forward operating end. 11, preferably enlarged and made circular in form, and its rear end bifurcated, whereby to form two rearwardly extending portions n and n. As thus constructed this abutment is preferably pivoted at the proper point upon the upper-surface of the gear F, i a pivot 113, whereby to permit of its forward end a being swung outward to engage with the rearwardly curved surface-of the arm n, with its center in approximate -coincidence with the pitch-line of the gear F, as shown in Figs.v 10 and 11, or of being swung inward therefrom to a position that will allow of its passing the outer end of such projecting arm without engaging therewith, as shown in Fig. 8. In being thus operated the rotation or quiescence of the printing or impression member M, when the gear F is being rotated, is determined by the position in which the abutment is adjusted. When swung outward to its outermost ,po sition it will engage with the outwardly and rearwardly curved surface of the arm a, and, carrying this arm along with it around its axis, will cause the rotation of the printing or impression member thereby. On the other hand, when adjusted to its innermost position then it will pass beyond the outer end of the arm a without engaging with it,

in which case the printing or impression member will remain in qulescence. While the printing or impression member may thus be brought into or left out of operation by simply moving the appropriate abutment to its respective outer or inward position, the engagement of the teeth a on the gear N with the teeth of the gear F is positively and gradually accomplished bv so relating the outwardly and rearwardly extending curved surface of the arm n to the first tooth of the series of teeth on the gear N, tlIlLltO the forwardend of the abutment, thatin operating to carry the arm n around its axis, the forward end of the abutment will. engage with this curved surface at its rear outer end, as shown in Fig. 10. In being thus engaged therewith, and moving forward in its course, the curved surface will travel down along the same, until the forward end of the abutment reaches a pointin its travel that will becoincident, with the tch-line of the teeth on the ear N, as \HOWH in Fig. 11' when the first tooth of the series on that gear will be brought opposite.

to the spare between the appropriate teeth on the gear'F and its proper engagement therewith effected. The engagement of the teeth a on the gear U with the teeth on the gear 1*, being thus effected through the cooperation of the abutments-a with the out-.

wardly and rearwardly curvedsurface on the arm 77 the swinging movement of each of these abut-ments upon its pivot, s limited 

